(2021-05-16 2:03)LycanTheory Wrote: [ -> ]I've arrived at the conclusion that "gatekeeping" in the therian community - the term itself has become little more than a buzzword thrown around when someone wants to disagree or call another individual or group prejudiced without outright saying it.
Prejudice in the therian community is a problem, a rampant one, especially amongst those who are overly consumed by their own humanity.
If we simply let go of the social inclinations which make us human, we can do better.
Lyc
That might be true for places that want to sling insults at this site for example. But GateKeeping is a true thing. I've been at the forefront of it's effects. It's strictly used in some communities to control who is a therian (by their own ideas, and decision ) and who isn't. Thus who can enter and who can't. If the person IS allowed in, if they don't pass this test, and later show "professionalism" during their stay there, they are either kicked out or shunned.
-Azi
Honestly, some say "gatekeeping" while trying to mean "barrier of entrance". Creating an account and, before accessing the rest of the website, having to write something a bit longer than a tweet as an introduction is a "barrier of entrance" thought to stop some obvious trolls. However, it's also seen as an impassable barrier by some who call it "gatekeeping".
However, that might be some bias from my side, who have been seeing people ignoring longer insightful positions to stick with whatever short message they feel they agree with.
Personally I think like alot of things it. Has double meaning you have the "gatekeeping" where you want to keep the people out that will cause problems. On the other hand you have it where if someone doesn't meet your standards or experience you block them from coming in.
It's a strict way to filter through who you want in your community and often derives from people not wanting to hear other's opinions, being blindsided by their experiences and believing that that is the only way.
It's not a good thing, and if I register on something where people gatekeep, unnecessarily, I'm gone. But I think it is needed to a small, small degree in the therian community because there are fakers and trolls. But these are obvious when you see them. If someone isn't being overly and obviously fake, let them in, let them share their ideas, opinions, and experiences. It's really important to have an open mind and I think people lose sight of that these days.
(2021-11-30 21:12)Bubbles Wrote: [ -> ]It's not a good thing, and if I register on something where people gatekeep, unnecessarily, I'm gone. But I think it is needed to a small, small degree in the therian community because there are fakers and trolls. But these are obvious when you see them. If someone isn't being overly and obviously fake, let them in, let them share their ideas, opinions, and experiences. It's really important to have an open mind and I think people lose sight of that these days.
One of the things we are plagued by, incessantly, in 2021 is a society that will take a topic such as this where there are two oppositional arguments and reduce anything remotely middle-ground to the farthest polar extremes.
I've seen in many circles outside of here "gatekeeping bad". All nuance is lost, all intellectual discussion is lost and no good faith attempt is made at deconstructing the position or when one is, it's often silenced by a shouting, angry appeal to emotion fallacy.
I think you've said it well, Bubbles. There is some merit to a reasonable degree of gatekeeping. One of the problems with viewing therianthropy as an identity is that identity can be disingenuous and in order to preserve the fundamentals of what being a therian means, some skepticism is necessitated.
I really don't think there can or should be objective lines drawn other than "a therian authentically feels like a non-human animal in some way, to some individually varying level".
Lyc
As someone who's been called a gatekeeper in the past, I gotta throw in that the term is drastically overused in situations where it strays from the true meaning of the word. Is gatekeeping a real thing? Of course it is. Is it a bad thing? I would agree that it is, yes. Where the line gets blurred all too often however, is when we start to refer to defining an experience as gatekeeping.
I don't know how many times I've seen people try and redefine Otherkin every which way except for its intended purpose as a term to begin with. In retrospect of gatekeeping, I don't think turning a blind eye to that behaviour, letting everyone throw around Otherkin and Therian terminology as cute little profile badges to describe something that is far from what they are actually feeling, is doing any good either. Honestly it's not even all that complicated. Telling someone "hey this word actually means this" isn't the same thing as gatekeeping by a longshot.
Example of actual gatekeeping: Oh you identify as a dragon? Well you can't call yourself a therian then! (This is gatekeeping due to someone being rejected for their species)
Example of defining an experience: Oh you don't identify as nonhuman? Then that's not the same as being therian/otherkin. (This is not gatekeeping as its explaining that the experience is not Otherkin/Therian related)
I don't see a problem with the latter at all, as its a huge part of what has built our community. We're nonhumans who want a nonhuman space. Not a bunch of pretenders or trolls mucking it up.
-Azaphaer